52 International The EconomistApril 4th 2020
21hit state, on March 21st. Four days later he
set up a free hotline for those whose mental
health was suffering.
Some are particularly susceptible to
stress during a pandemic. Health-care
workers are most exposed to the virus. The
sense of camaraderie and of being part of a
team that is helping people can buoy their
spirits. But many doctors and nurses are
being forced to isolate themselves away
from their families because they may be in-
fectious, which adds to their strains, pointsout Dhruv Khullar, a doctor in New York.
The lack of personal protective equip-
ment for medics in many countries will
only make that stress worse. Nicholas
Christakis, now at Yale, worked as a doctor
in the 1990s during the hiv/aidsepidemic.
There was a “lot of fear among health work-
ers that if you looked after an aidspatient
you would contract the disease,” he recalls.
But back then they had enough protective
equipment. That made the risk of infec-
tion, which comes with the job, more bear-able. Covid-19 is much easier to catch. “The
current situation is like sending a fireman
into a building naked,” he says.
Among the population at large, some
may be especially worried. Those who have
lost their jobs, who now number in the mil-
lions, may have lost not just their income,
but also their identity, routine and much of
their social network, says Jan-Emmanuel
De Neve, head of the Wellbeing Research
Centre at Oxford University.
Single people who once whiled away
their days with friends, or those who live
separately from their partners, suddenly
find themselves spending most of their
time alone. Many who exercise in teams or
groups—or simply enjoy spending time
outside—have to make do with a cramped
living room and online classes. Mike, a 29-
year-old Briton who works in finance in
Brussels, is relieved that so far he is still al-
lowed out for runs (though police move
him along if he sits down to catch his
breath): “Otherwise I’d just feel like Robin-
son Crusoe with Netflix.” Isolation will af-
fect the mental health of even those who
appear to be in less danger from the virus:
67% of Britons between the ages of 18 and
34 said they were finding it hard to remain
upbeat, compared with 54% of those be-
tween the ages of 55 and 75.
If lockdowns stretch on for months, old
people will suffer particularly acutely.
Even before they were confined to their
homes, they were more likely to feel lonely.
Elderly women in Europe are more than
twice as likely as men to live on their own.
They rely on seeing family and friends to
keep up their morale, or simply for a rou-
tine. Alfredo Rossi, an 80-year-old in Casal-
pusterlengo, one of the first areas of Italy to
be put under lockdown in February, says
that what upsets him most about the re-
strictions is being unable to see his grand-
children who live just 16km (ten miles)
away in Piacenza across the River Po.
Domestic violence, already endemic
everywhere, rises sharply when people are
placed under the strains that come from
confined living conditions and worries
about their security, health and money,
says Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the head
of unWomen, a unagency. Based on early
estimates, she thinks that in some coun-
tries under lockdown, domestic violence
could be up by about a third.
The scale of the lockdowns is unprece-
dented. But research into previous trau-
matic events and other types of isolation
offers some clues about the likely mental-
health fallout. According to a rapid review
of the psychological effects of quarantines,
published on March 14th in the Lancet, a“U
p off yourchairs and just start
lifting those feet,” chirps a woman
sporting green leggings as she marches
energetically. Diana Moran, a fitness
expert known as the Green Goddess, was
a staple of 1980s British breakfast televi-
sion. Now in her 80s, she is making a
comeback. In a new morning slot she is
encouraging older people, many of
whom are in isolation to avoid infection,
to stay active. As lockdowns force the
world to stay at home indefinitely, many
are turning to their screens to stay sane.
Meditation apps, digital fitness class-
es and online cookery courses are boom-
ing. Zoom, a videoconferencing service
now worth around $40bn through which
many such classes are broadcast, has
become one of the most important “so-
cial wellness” companies, reckons Beth
McGroarty of the Global Wellness In-
stitute, a research group. Those stuck
inside are desperate for company.
On YouTube average daily views of
videos including “with me” in the title—
convivial baking, studying and declutter-
ing are all available—have increased by
600% since March 15th compared with
the rest of the year. Last week dj d-Nice,
an American disc jockey, drew over
100,000 virtual partygoers to his “Club
Quarantine” on Instagram Live.
The stuck-at-home are also keen to
improve themselves (see chart). Down-
loads of the top five recipe apps doubled
in China during February’s lockdown. In
Britain John Lewis, an upmarket depart-
ment store, has reported a five-fold
increase in sales of its Marcato pasta
machine compared with typical sales for
this time of year. Kettlebells and yoga
mats are selling like toilet paper. Joe
Wicks, a trainer who posts workout
videos online, saw subscriptions to his
channel more than double after he
launched live physical-education les-
sons for kids no longer able to burn offtheir energy at school. During the first
week of classes 15m viewers joined in.
The popularity of live group activities
challenges the idea that you have to be
physically present to be together. People
who work out in groups are more com-
mitted and get more health benefits than
those doing so alone. It is also showing
just how much can be “experienced”
from the comfort of the couch, raising
the bar for experiences such as concerts
and classes in the post-covid world.
Even before the pandemic, fitness
fans wondered whether paid-for online
platforms such as Peloton, a home exer-
cise-bike company, could replace gyms.
That debate will pump up further if gyms
go bust because of the shutdowns.
It seems more likely that the strange
but temporary state of lockdown will
boost sectors that were already growing.
Mental-health apps were flourishing
before covid-19. Downloads of the five
most popular “mindfulness” apps grew
by 85% in 2018. In the last week of March
Headspace, a meditation app, saw a
19-fold jump in users completing a calm-
ing exercise and a 14-fold surge in those
doing a “reframing anxiety” session.Net benefits
Self-improvementWith millions stuck at home, the online wellness industry is boomingAlexa, I’m bored
Worldwide Google-search traffic, peak=100
By search term, 2020Source: Google Trends100806040200
Feb MarSex tipsKettlebellHome workoutMake breadJigsawWriters wanted: The Economistis looking for an
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